2009 CFC-O starts strong Published Nov. 26, 2009 By Maj. Dru Dickerson 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Executive Officer KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 451st Air Expeditionary Wing has reached the halfway point of its inaugural Combined Federal Campaign - Overseas and is off to a strong start. Most, if not all, servicemembers are familiar with the CFC campaign from home stations. The CFC-O program extends those same charitable opportunities to those Department of Defense employees deployed overseas and stationed in Europe. The funds raised through the CFC-O campaign support more than 2,000 national and international charities, some of which have likely benefitted friends, family members or even one's self. Most Continental U.S. wings set a monetary goal during their CFC campaign. These monetary goals are based on historical wing averages and increase slightly each year. As a new wing, the 451st AEW has had no past campaign figures to use as a reference; because of that, this is a baseline year for the wing and no goal has been set for total donations raised. There is a set wing goal of informing 100 percent of the 451st AEW Airmen about the campaign and a contributor participation rate of 15 percent. Mid-way through the campaign, the wing is well on its way toward meeting these goals. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of the CFC-O campaign volunteers, more than 98 percent of the wing's personnel has been contacted, and the wing's participation rate stands at more than 11 percent. The 451st AEW is also performing well compared to other wings in the area of responsibility. It ranks in the top third of AOR wings for participation rate, average per capita donation and total donations raised. The wing's totals actually meet or exceed the totals of two other wings with more than three times the personnel. This year's CFC-O campaign runs from Oct. 5 to Dec. 4. Anyone interested in donating may contact his or her unit or group CFC representative for a list of charities and donation instructions.